Shane Eli - Knuckle Up

On his Booth debut, featured last Thursday, Shane Eli reflected on the difficulty of carving out a personal identity, particularly when one resides in the Grey Area at the center of an racial and cultural divide. As refreshing as the artist’s insights were, however, contemplation ultimately has to give way to action; the project’s second leak finds the Los Angeles native ready to Knuckle Up and plow through anyone who gets in the way of his trajectory to the top. Once again doing double-duty on the mic and behind the boards, Eli delivers his braggadocio-drenched bars over a driving mix of clattering percussion and grimy synths. As different as this cut is from its predecessor, it carries an equally worthwhile message: “Those who don’t create the future they want must endure the future they get.” If you’re hoping that more fresh tunes from Shane Eli lie in your future, you’ll most definitely want to reach out and download his Booth-sponsored street album, The Push, when it lands on our front page this June.